Scientific data is more than enough to conclude that climate change is faster than ever before. But are we changing fast enough to face the greatest development and humanitarian challenges?
Many of the potential impacts of rapid changes in climate have been modeled at multiple levels, including impacts on one of the most fundamental human rights: food. But the question is whether we are transforming the food security sector fast enough to achieve the net-zero emission target by 2050, while ensuring people have access to not only enough, but also nutritious food.
In this context, does the food security sector possess the agility and flexibility to face climate extremes so that everyone has access to nutritious, quality food?
The first World Food Summit held in 1996 explains that food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2021).
Climate change disproportionately impacts all dimensions of food security, including the quantity, quality, access, and food preferences.
The impact of climate change in South Asia can jeopardize global food security
South Asia is not an exception. On the one end, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change and variability; on the other end, it is a key player in global food supply and value chains. Hence, climate change impacts in South Asia will not only derail the region’s food security, but also jeopardize food supply and value chains on a global scale.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate-related drivers of impacts in South Asia include a warming trend, extreme temperatures, extreme precipitation, dry spells, damaging cyclones, and sea-level rise.
Increased risk of crop failures and lower production are inevitable in the region by 2050. Water scarcity in arid areas will continue to reduce production and productivity. Furthermore, increased risks of drought-related water and food shortages, which cause malnutrition, pose significant threats to the region.
On the other hand, floodplains, lower river basins, and deltas will face increased riverine, coastal and urban flooding, leading to widespread damages to infrastructure, croplands, livestock, livelihoods, markets, and settlements, therefore posing significant risks to food security.
Sea-level rise and sea-water intrusion will also reduce arable lands in South Asia, thus impacting the food production and supply in major parts of the region.
Climate change will further exacerbate poverty, inequalities, and vulnerabilities; putting the food security of the region at extreme risk. IPCC projects that food insecurity will be a significant challenge by the middle of the 21st Century, resulting in the largest number of food-insecure people of the world living in South Asia.